1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical communications module equipped with at least one optical transmitter section, one optical receiver section, or one optical transceiver section.
2. Description of the Background Art
An optical communications module is usually equipped with an optical transmitter section, an optical receiver section, or an optical transceiver section. The optical transmitter section includes a laser diode and an integrated circuit for operating the laser diode (a driver IC), while the optical receiver section incorporates an optical receiver device and an integrated circuit for amplifying electric signals (an amplifier IC).
Such optical transmitter or receiver section is usually mounted on a dielectric substrate, which is entirely covered by a chassis (Refer to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-345987 for an example).
As the optical communication technology advances, there is a growing necessity to develop a smaller and less expensive optical communications module that is suited to mass production.
When the optical communications module is downsized, the optical power efficiency of the optical communications module tends to be degraded since the substrate and component parts are arranged more closely within the chassis, causing the temperature inside the chassis to increase by heat generated by the laser diode, the driver IC, and the amplifier IC. In addition, the receiving sensitivity of the optical receiver device and the amplifier IC also is adversely affected.
Due to such heat-associated problems, the downsizing of optical communications modules requires improvements in their heatsink efficiency.